1931, but the margin was too small for the record to be officially registered. A further record attempt on December 5, 1931, would end in tragedy, the aircraft suffering a wing failure and rolling into the ground, killing Bayles. It was suspected that the Model Z's crash during a speed run in December 1931 was due to an unexpected failure of the gasoline tank cap, which may have come loose and passed through the windshield. A bullet-proof windscreen and internal fuel caps were part of the new design. Analysis of motion picture film of the event examined frame-by-frame, is inconclusive. Control surface flutter is a more likely cause. It is theorized that the gas cap struck the pilot and incapacitated him, causing a sudden upset in pitch that led to uncontrolled flutter in the right aileron which imparted undue stress on that wing, causing it to pitch up sharply and fail. In addition, tests of a reproduction aircraft have shown that the Gee Bee Z was susceptible to aerodynamic flutter at high speed. The 1932 R-1 and its sister ship, the R-2, were the successors of the previous year's Thompson Trophy-winning Model Z. Legacy Film of the crash of the Gee Bee Z has become some of the most well known footage from the era of air racing. The crash also helped to establish the reputation of Gee Bee racing aircraft as killers. The Super Sportster design would be refined into the Gee Bee Model R for the 1932 air race season. Two reproductions of the Gee Bee Z have been constructed. One, a faithful reproduction of the original aircraft, was constructed by Jeff Eicher and Kevin Kimball of Mount Dora, Florida, and is housed in the Fantasy of Flight museum in Lakeland, Florida. The other, constructed by Bill Turner in 1978, features extended wings and fuselage for better flight characteristics. It appeared in 1991 as both a static and flying prop in the Walt Disney feature film The Rocketeer; it is now on display at the Museum of Flight in Tukwila, Washington. Specifications (Gee Bee Model Z Super Sportster) Popular culture Kermit Weeks, founder of Fantasy of Flight, used a Gee Bee Model Z as his main character "Zee" in a series of children's books set around the interwar period. A modified replica of the Gee Bee Model Z appeared in the 1991 Walt Disney feature film, The Rocketeer.